Eliminating Opportunity Gaps

A recent partnership between two John Muir educators, Seattle chefs, and a local nonprofit is just one of the many inspiring examples of how our teachers are changing the lives of their students.

The Changing the Narrative cooking class developed out of a larger project at the school to help work with educators, students, families, and community partners to collaboratively change perceptions and dispel negative stereotypes about black men. Now these boys are working to give back to their school community so a group of next year’s fifth graders can have the same opportunity.

Seattle Skills Center is teaming up with the Seattle Maritime Academy to help train tomorrow's mariners. Every day, Seattle Public Schools is working with our community partners to help students thrive and eliminate opportunity gaps.

Eliminating opportunity gaps is the issue of our time. Under the leadership of Superintendent Nyland, the entire school district is focused on developing strategies to ensure each student is known, challenged, and supported. Substitute teachers are taking up this challenge with culturally responsive teaching.

Every student. Every classroom. Every day. These are the words you’ll find on the cover of the strategic plan for Seattle Public Schools and throughout the district on countless posters. These are not empty words; they are an inspiration for staff and teachers alike as the district strives to eliminate opportunity gaps and provide high-quality instruction.

Books are a powerful thing. Sometimes their words sweep us away to magical, far-away places while other times they scare us and leave us shivering with every turn of the page. Books also bring us together by helping to build intentional partnerships between teachers, students, and communities.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and Superintendent Larry Nyland, joined the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance, and 130 other organizations across the country to support the National Day of Racial Healing held last Tuesday.

The 2016 State of the District drew hundreds of attendees on November 7, 2016. Moving at a lively pace, the event alternated between updates on progress, examples of success and challenges, and student performance.

The emcee, Zachary Stowell, Assistant Principal of Catherine Blaine K-8 explained that the State of the District event was “about telling the story of Seattle Public Schools, students and the community; a story of hope, social justice and a commitment to ensure that every single student in our thriving city is successful.”

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) Superintendent Dr. Larry Nyland and School Board President Betty Patu joined Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, Thursday, to present a set of recommendations aimed at ensuring all Seattle students are set up for academic success and post-secondary education and careers, with an emphasis on improving outcomes for African Americans/Black students.

Seattle Public Schools is proud to release its "Speak English AND Your Home Language" video honoring the multilingualism of SPS students. The video, available with subtitles in eight languages plus English, was made in collaboration with Highline Public Schools, the Kent School District and OneAmerica.

Beginning November 7th, The Seattle Public Library is partnering with Seattle Public Schools to run a pilot program called Library Link. This program will automatically provide a library account to students at three middle schools.

In a district of over 50,000 students spanning 140 native languages how can you work toward delivering classroom instruction that is tailored to the needs of each and every student? One way is the Formative Practices Institute (FPI) for district teachers.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) and Seattle Education Association (SEA) are united in our commitment to the success of every student in every classroom, every day.

An unwavering commitment to ensuring racial equity in education anchors our work. This commitment was demonstrated last week with the launch of the #CloseTheGaps campaign and highlighted on Wednesday, October 19 as educators across the district led conversations and lessons with their students focused on racial equity and social justice.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is announcing a renewed partnership with King County Public Health, the City of Seattle, Group Health, HealthPoint, International Community Health Services, NeighborCare Health, Swedish Medical Center, and the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic who, combined, provide and fund School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) at 29 Seattle schools and help eliminate opportunity gaps.

The Seattle Seahawks, NFL Play 60, and United Way of King County visited Dearborn Park International Elementary School to encourage students to stay healthy by eating right and getting plenty of exercise every day, and to strive to improve attendance.

Eliminating opportunity gaps and ensuring educational excellence for each and every student is the issue of our time.

As a result, we are announcing a new campaign that demonstrates our collective commitment to eliminating opportunity gaps and accelerating learning for all students—specifically for our black students and other students of color. The campaign is called #CloseTheGaps. We are kicking it off the week of October 16-22, 2016, and we are asking you to join us.

Seattle Public Schools, along with the Puget Sound Educational Service District and neighboring districts, have committed to addressing chronic absenteeism.

Attendance has been proven to be one of the most powerful predictors of academic achievement and can have a dramatic impact on key milestones, including third grade reading, 9th grade achievement, high school graduation, and life success.

The Department of School Family Partnerships and African American Male Scholars Think Tank is hosting regional community meetings to inform and get feedback from students, families, school staff and community stakeholders about the African American Male Scholars Initiative, to inform recommendations to the superintendent.

Seattle Public Schools welcomed Seattle Alliance of Black School Educators and Dr. Ivory Toldson White House Deputy Director to John Stanford Center for a recent symposium dedicated to closing the Opportunity Gap for African American males and other students of color.

Seattle Public Schools is proud to announce a partnership with the U.S. Department of Education to eliminate chronic student absenteeism and further close the opportunity gap.

Part of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper: Every Student, Every Day Campaign, the newly created Success Mentors Initiative is designed to pair students with mentors to help students improve attendance and succeed in school.

The Seattle School Board unanimously passed a resolution September 23, 2015, immediately placing a moratorium on out-of-school suspensions for elementary grade students. A district-wide plan will also be developed to further reduce out-of-school suspensions for all grades.